1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to processing video information, and more particularly to an integrated system and method for generating video clips for distribution over a network such as the Internet.
2. Background Description
A number of technologies exist for performing video editing, video archiving, and video format conversion and compression. Unfortunately, none of these technologies are integrated, i.e., each of the video editing, archiving, and formatting functions are performed by an independent system. Consequently, video production has proven to be an inefficient, time-consuming endeavor.
These drawbacks are apparent from the many types of video processing equipment available on the market. Currently, video editing systems are made by Avid or Media 100. Software for converting or compressing video into various formats are available from Terran Corporation, RealNetworks, or Microsoft. And, database systems are made by IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft. These database systems come equipped with interfaces that allow users to associate meta-information with the stored video.
Unlike the present invention, all of these conventional video processing devices operate independently from one another and thus are employed as separate workstations often remotely located from one another. For example, video clips may be generated at one location by one user and then forwarded to another location to be processed by a second users. The use of separate, unlinked workstations and multiple users to perform the steps required to generate and process video clips in a video production system has proven to be undesirable in terms of time, convenience, and cost.
Second-generation video processing equipment integrate simple video logging features with database systems. For example, they perform rudimentary selection of video and association of meta-information. Virage and Excalibur""s Screening Room are examples of systems of this type.
One drawback of second-generation equipment is that they are designed for automatic operation and do not provide a true editing environment that enables users to selectively build video clips, or sequences, from a complete video. Instead, these systems dynamically build a list of sequential clips from the complete video.
Also, these systems do not provide for the user-based addition of meta-information. Instead, they rely on automated systems to retrieve information such as closed-captioning. Their primary purpose is to log content within a video title for the retrieval of that section of the full video, or for the retrieval of the complete video. For instance, in a news gathering environment news material may be run through one of these systems where the individual stories will be logged with extracted close-captioned text. This allows for the retrieval and searching of a collection of this material for the purposes of locating a specific story or identifying a complete tape for re-use. However, user-selective meta-tagging with content information is not possible and thus these second-generation systems are only of limited use in video systems that require, for example, the distribution of streaming video over the Internet.
A need therefore exists for a video production system which processes video in a more efficient manner compared with conventional systems, and which achieves this efficiency by linking the video editing, meta-tagging, database accessing, and conversion/compression elements of a video production system into a single integrated unit.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a system and method which links the video editing, database access, meta-tagging, and conversion/compression elements of a video processing system into a single integrated unit, thereby improving video production efficiency compared with conventional systems.
It is another object of the present invention to achieve the first object by brining the traditionally independent video editing, database access, meta-tagging, and compression elements of a video processing system under control of a central software application which can be accessed through a graphical user interface displayed, for example, at a video editing station.
It is another object of the present invention to integrate the elements of a video processing system in the aforementioned manner to create a digital pipeline which enhances workflow productivity, because the users who have knowledge of the video clips they are editing are able to store content information with the clips in a centralized storage system. Once stored, the system can be used to select clips from storage for distribution as, for example, streaming video over the Internet.
It is another object of the present invention to form the aforementioned integrated video production system from video editing, database access, and video conversion/compression devices that are remotely located from one another.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an integrated video production system and method which allows a single user to perform, or control the performance, of all the steps required to process a video clip from generation to distribution, even if the individual elements of the video production system are remotely located from one another.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method of the aforementioned type which allows a user to selectively building video clips from a complete video.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method of the aforementioned type which performs user-based addition of contextual information to the video clips generated for storage and distribution.
It is another object of the present invention to reduce the overall time to create video clips from a complete video title, while simultaneously adding meta-information to the clips which characterizes the content of the clips with improved accuracy and relevancy compared with conventional systems.
These and other objects are achieved by performing, in a single integrated system and in a continuous manner, all the steps required to process a video clip (or sequence) from generation to distribution, even if the individual elements of the video production system are remotely located from one another. This is realized by using a control application program which links the elements of a video production system using managed network connections. To provide enhanced control, a graphical user interface is presented at a video editing workstation for displaying video clips and then tagging the clips with content information to be subsequently stored in a database. The system may then be word searched to locate specific clips based on the content information. Once located, the content information (e.g., meta-tags) may either be modified, replaced, or deleted, and/or the clips may be distributed, for example, over the Internet as streaming video. Thus, unlike conventional systems, the method of the present invention allows a single user to perform, or control the performance, of all the video production functions required to ready a video clip for distribution.
In a preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention includes: a first video editing device which generates a video clip from a video; a storage area network, linked to the first video editing device, for storing the video or video clip; a content assignment program for displaying the video clip and allowing a user to tag the video clip with content information; a content management database which stores a record that includes the content information tagged to the video clip by the context assignment means; and a control application program for operatively linking the first video editing device, context assignment program, storage area network, and content management database to form an integrated video-clip storage and distribution system. If desired, at least two of the elements of the system may be remotely located from one another. Further, the content assignment program may be included in the video editing device for convenience purposes and to centralize the functions of the system, and the
The system of the present invention may be equipped with a number of optional features. For example, the system may include a module for converting or compressing video clip into predetermined formats, e.g., a streaming video format. The system may include a video loading system included within the video editing device or as a separate element. If separate, the video loading system would be responsible for inputting the video into the storage area network.
Further, and advantageously, the control application program may be written to automatically create a record in the content management system corresponding to the video when the video is loaded into said video loading device. The control application program may also automatically activate the content assignment program and display of a graphical user interface when video is loaded into the video loading device. Both of these steps further enhance the speed and efficiency of the meta-tagging process and thus further underscore the advantages of the present invention.
Further, the system may include a browser program for searching the storage area network to locate video clips based on the content information input into the content management database.